A/N: Hello everyone. I apologize for the late release this week, but I've been ill the past couple of days and still am. I wasn't able to finish on time because of it. I actually could have posted yesterday but it would have been rushed. I'd rather provide you all with a late, quality chapter than a half-assed, early one. I hope you'll bare with me and enjoy the climax of the these Chunin Exams.
As for the drawings, I wasn't able to sit down and finish those either, so expect them some time during this week.
Pull out your box of tissues, you might need it for this one.
Ch 9
Chunin Exams Part 4
His spine was riddled upon collision with the sturdy oak. Air rushed from his lungs, his body resembling that of a deflating bag. The ridged bark tore into the material of his jacket, digging into skin while he descended the rough surface. His ribs were re-injured, this time dislocated in areas on both sides of the cage, and his head whip-lashed against the bark. His vision was a daze. Images blurred apart and there were a thousand more trees than before. The boy nearly suffocated against the tree. The wind vacated his body, he couldn't expand his lungs to take deep breaths, and there was already minimal oxygen available. It was a terrible situation yet the least of his misfortunes.
Yashiro gasped for air regardless of the circumstances. His chest was almost numb and the pain didn't affect him. But the sharp sting just underneath the right side of his diaphragm couldn't be ignored. He was still unaware of what had happened to him. Soon, his vision began to collect itself, the several hundred layers of cards condensing into just a few. The 360 degree eyesight that he possessed was gradually deteriorating as the seconds accumulated. His peripherals caked in darkness from both sides until it was just his original line of sight. The muscles and veins around his temples and eyes relaxed, there was no blood rushing to them anymore. The intensity of his Byakugan vanished. They were simple, pupiless, pale eyes now. His awareness of himself washed in from the top down. As it extended to his chest, he felt the throbbing of his heart. Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump! Erratic in nature it was, but only for a moment. Thump…thump…thump. It became more difficult to feel, as if there was no reason for it to pump anymore, nothing within it to force throughout his body. Now he felt the contraction of his stomach and a resulting taste of cold iron against his tongue. His clogged throat forced him to cough, a violent, regurgitating action. Less than what he expected came, and he didn't bend over to puke. It was just a coating fluid flooding over his bottom lip and down his chin. He attempted to lift his left hand, but he didn't know what he was holding on to. He used his right hand instead, dragging his palm across his chin and mouth. Yashiro focused his vision on the center of his hand. It was odd to him in his fuzzy sight that his palm was of darker complexion than his skin. But soon his vision cleared, so much so that his eyes began to wide to his epiphany. "Blood..? …AGH!" the Hyūga writhed.
The deep, carmine liquid of life was sat in abundance within the palm of Yashiro's right hand. Trembling set in, his entire arm was now shaking as he stared himself down. He felt his mouth filling with the disgusting taste of metal as the seconds dragged on. Every time he went to wipe his mouth again, it added another coat onto his skin. The drops splattered across the front of his palm, the sleeve of his jacket and drained down his neck. It was uncontrollable. The muscles in his chest tightened. His heart was being crushed by anxiety. His throat filled again, forcing him to cough. Unlike before, this was a episode of hacking and spitting. Yashiro painted the face of the individual before him. His vision zoned out and back in to solidify the features. Yoshimura. "…GAH!" the boy cried out again. Hazel eyes pierced through his dimming, already pale irises. His enemy was able to see the wrinkles of terror that was etched into his face. He was able to see the conniving smirk that was spread from ear to ear, smeared with his own blood. A shoulder was pressed into his chest, pinning him into the oaken trunk. Yashiro's sight trailed down from the eyes, down from the smirk, down from the shoulder to see where the origin of his agony lie. Before he saw what had struck him, the garnet-painted branch he stood upon became prevalent. The soles of his shinobi sandals were dyed a new color, drenched in an ever growing puddle of red ink. His vision refocused. His left hand was actually clenched against Yoshimura's wrist, holding on for dear life by instinct. Yet, it was still inadequate. There was at least six inches of twisted, tri-edged steel in his kidney. Yashiro for a moment had forgotten that the color of his jacket was blue when he saw what was pooling from his wound.
The Hyūga struggled with the blade in his stomach, still attempting to push Yoshimura's arms away, but the boy wouldn't budge. He had at least 15 more kg of weight on Yashiro. Moreover, each time Yashiro strained himself, he would force more blood from his body. It was a foolish, but desperate method of action. But there was nothing else he could do. His cells were being deprived of nourishment. Oxygen couldn't be delivered to them, and for that, his muscles grew weaker each second. His neck slacked, tilting his head down. His consciousness was fading. Darkness was setting in. As much as he tried to keep his eyes open, it was like the light itself was being siphoned away. The view of Yoshimura, the lethal weapon buried into his body, the landscape that surrounded them, everything was slipping away from him, no matter how hard he tried to hold on. The fingers of his left hand began to loosen. At this point, Yoshimura's attention was diverted. Although feeling in much of his body was gone, he could still feel the exiting of the knife. "…Yashiro…" he heard. It was a distant, female voice. "….Yashiro…" she called to him again. The eloquence of the disembodied sound was soothing.
"…Who is this?" he wondered.
"…Come to me, my beloved…" the voice responded. Yashiro still had no clear vision. All that existed now was the dark emptiness before him, and a dot of light in the center.
"…Mother…?" he recognized. Yashiro couldn't feel the movement, but it was as if he was turning his head in search of something. The light swiped across the center of the pitch black space as he did. He finally figured out where the voice was coming from as he stared into the bright crack in the void.
"…Come…" the voice of his mother said again. The light grew. He was being pulled closer. "…It's ti—"
"YASHIRO!" boomed a second female voice. It was infinitely more violent and aggressive than the one before. "…YASHIRO!" it screamed once more. There were two voiced mixed in to call his name. They didn't originate from the light. The came from the darkness, the outside.
"…Usagi…Akua…" their voices were crystal clear to him. Although he could no longer see them, he knew exactly where they were, and that they could see him and his condition. The two girls approached at high speeds from his east. He could hear their screams, shouts and their cries. All of it was pulling him back, restricting him from progressing towards the light. They were reactivating his conscience, their voices like a tether to the world.
"YASHIRO..!" his comrades shouted at the tops of their lungs. Despite his situation, Yashiro remained selfless.
"They're going to draw too much attention to themselves," he thought to himself. Now their chakras were detectable. Each of them had their adrenaline rushing through their veins. Akua's chakra was different, however. He was able revisualize the world around him, by the feel of their energy. This briefly allowed the light to return to his eyes. There was absolutely no strength left in his arms, yet he held Yoshimura in a grip of fate and pulled the blade further into his body so that the ice user wouldn't be able to escape. "Get out of here," Yashiro's voice returned, " …go!"
He saw their dim images within his broken vision and the sorrow that pulled their faces down. The both of them were about 30 meters away from him. He wasn't able to see everything, but the tears that streamed from their eyelids sparkled like crystals under the light of the full moon. The two females were halted by his words of warning. "…I'm sorry. I know that…I'm a failure, but please," he pleaded, keeping Yoshimura against his body, "this is it for me… and it's the last thing"—he choked, blood was visibly flooding his esophagus by the way the liquid hung from his lips—"…that I…can do to…protect the two of you."
"Forget it!" Usagi viciously denied, "we're coming to help you!"
He figured Usagi would be unreasonable, but when his switched to Akua, she was motionless. Pain worse than anything he was experiencing was vivid by the crimson gleam in her eyes, a divergence from the purple that he was use to. He flexed a smile upon the speculation of what it was. Akua clenched her teeth and shook her head, realizing the severity of the situation. Yashiro could tell that she was blaming herself for his fate, but this was his own decision. There was so much that he wanted to say, so much that he wanted to tell her specifically. At the very least, he wanted to relieve her of the guilt that she was bound to feel if he died on them. Alas, he could no longer speak. Yoshimura was crushing his throat and landing blows against his chest in order to free himself, but his well being was far beyond his reach now. None of it mattered to him at this point. All that matter was that his friends got away safely and for that purpose, he willed his lifeless body to hold on. While he held on with his left hand, Yashiro was able to lift his right fist toward his comrades. Akua immediately recognized its meaning, and sunk her head. A moment later, the Hyūga witnessed Akua carrying Usagi away on her back. It was the very last image of the real world that he saw. The brilliance of Akua's Sharingan as she looked back, the last memory that he departed with. His right arm fell limp. His back slid even further down the branches, sinking into a seat. The darkness engulfed him again, but this time he was ready. He was no longer able to resist the call of the voice. In an instant his fears, troubles, worries, pains, and regrets were all swept away as he bathed in the light. He was free.
Akua felt uneasy as she approached the scene of Yashiro's battle with Usagi. The two were silent, yet the way they increased their pace without a word made it seem like they communicated telepathically. That wasn't the case, though. It was a simple observation instead that caused them both to simultaneously want to rush towards their friend. The sounds of the battle ceased. This could only mean one of two things. Yashiro had completed his task, what he'd promised to them that he would do. On the other hand, it could also be a result of his failure. Part of Akua was afraid that the latter of the two had occurred, for if Yashiro had defeated Yoshimura, he most likely would have rendezvoused with them. But the resting silence had gone on for too long. Yashiro should have met with them already. Akua tried to push the thought of his defeat out of her mind, filling it with alternate solutions. One of which was that Yashiro surely prevailed, but he was injured and couldn't travel towards them. He needed their help. However, each time she peered at Usagi in the corner of her eye, reality kept on slapping her in the face. Akua's reassurance and possible denial crumbled with Usagi's fretful facial expression. The Shimura was already exuding an aura despair that tickled Akua's skin. She saw the tears welling up in her eyelids, caught in the wind behind her as she ran. Despite obtaining the heaven scroll, all the girls had now was hope. But it wasn't enough.
Usagi charged on ahead when she caught a glimpse of Yashiro within the dark oak tree. Her feet almost kicked dirt up into Akua's face. The Uchiha came into distant view of her comrade a few seconds later. It only took a slight tilt of the head to see Yashiro standing with weak knees upon a low branch, pinned against the thick trunk of the tree. That was when Usagi erupted with his name from her mouth. It was a scream of shock, disgust and horror that sunk the beating muscle in Akua's chest. It was rivaled only by the sight that caused it. Yoshimura had his body against their teammate and underneath them, the branch was blackened by blood. Someone was bleeding out in epic proportions and the heart that sank felt like it had been shot through. The glint of steel from Yashiro's body solidified Akua's fears. Even from a distance of 100 closing meters, she was able to see the unique and deadly tri-blade kunai that was buried into the depths of his abdomen. Within seconds, Akua realized the gravity of the situation. Her own tears started to swell without her permission. She wasn't able to deny it anymore, the truth was there in front of her. It was the lethal kunai that Tanoshimi also wielded, the same one that if pierced with resulted in eminent death without immediate medical treatment. Yashiro was already far beyond repair when it was confirmed that the weapon tore into a vital spot. The mess that the two boys stood in was concrete evidence of that. Regardless of how futile her presence was now, Akua never stopped running. The two girls screamed his name now. The tears in Akua's eyes overflowed. Mixed emotions of remorse, anger, and misery tried to blend together in her chest. The physical reaction that resulted was inevitable. Tear fluid glossed the entirety of her eyeballs, adding to the gradient crimson of her three-tomoe sharingan.
Akua's eyebrows tilted in and her teeth grinded against each other. She was ready to retaliate in the name of her friend. However, she and Usagi were frozen in their tracks by his unexpected voice. He was slipping away, and there wasn't a thing they could do to help him. His death was inevitable now. Akua stood helpless as a spectator while Yashiro sacrificed the last of his strength to allow their escape. Akua figured that he was aware of his fate as well. The thought sickened her. His final plea, heartbreaking. She wanted to disagree with him again but failed to assert herself. Usagi cracked underneath the stress, blind to what was happening.
"Akua! Don't listen to him let's—"
"Forgive me." There was a flash of red in Usagi's eyes. The girl's pupils dilated in the gaze of Akua's dojutsu. Her consciousness faded, cast away with the effects of genjutsu. Her body fell limp into Akua's arms. The Uchiha dropped to her knees when she caught her friend, crumbling into her distressed emotions. Her tears dripped into Usagi's hair while she collected herself. She got to her feet again, lifted her teammate into a piggy-back and picked up the girl's naginata. This was in compliance to Yashiro's request. The least should could do now was to listen to him for the last time. Afterall, she felt responsible for this situation. There was a damp puddle of soil in the ground that was darkened by Akua's sobs and as Yashiro's arm began to lose its luster, she turned in the other direction. While she ran, Akua couldn't help but to look back at her friend. She wasn't aware, but her Sharingan was visible to him. The crimson eye of the Uchiha and the lavender white eye of the Hyūga met in lines of sight. Through it, it was as if they were sharing information in silence, saying their last goodbyes as both of them departed.
The last Akua saw of Yashiro before the canopy of leaves obscured her vision was his dead right arm that collapsed to his side, lowering the fist that he made. The second thing was his lifeless eyes. They were empty shells of what they used to be. The third thing was the faint smile that he wore in his final moments. He was satisfied with what he had done, satisfied with his fate as though he succeeded at something in his death. Akua subliminally figured that it was because he thought that he was finally able to do something to aid his team. But that wasn't true at all, not to Akua. His feeling of uselessness was never a factor, never something that anyone on Team Sakura dwelled upon. It was never something that hindered their performance. There had to be something else as to why he was doing it. His sacrifice was for naught if that was the reason, because neither Usagi, Sakura, nor herself felt such a way. The few hours it took for Akua to make the imminent realization felt like an eternity, time passing by as if it had thickened into a frozen slurry.
Akua clenched her eyes shut, letting the tears flow away from the corners and hanging her head towards the ground as she travelled. Her nose was a snotty mess that she let linger. She held her sobbing within, knowing it would keep her from moving fast enough. Her primary goal now was to get Usagi to safety. Yet the thought of Yashiro lingered. "Ugh!" she growled, shaking her head in defeat and cursing herself. The soles of her sandals left a heavy print in the moist soil as she bolted into the air, hoisting herself upon a branch to continue her escape by tree.
Bleak clouds crowded within the magnetic barrier that surrounded the dreadful Cloudburst Isles. There was a soft rumbling as the heavy collections of water vapor rubbed against each other, and the sky wept with the raven-haired Uchiha girl that traversed beneath it.
The gray clouds filled the heavens and forbade any of the afternoon sun from touching the surface of the island. Instead they painted a disgusting picture in the sky, resembling a lumped blob of lint. They scrapped the atmosphere and cursed the genin and creatures below them with a spell of their rolling thunder as they encircled the land, only situated within that region of the aerospace. Along with that came its token to the soil and plant life, a light shower much less severe than the previous stormcell. One special, dark oak was in great need of a rinsing. Instead of the translucent tears of rain that bathed the other tree leaves, this one soaked away a black, bloody crimson.
After a few minutes, Yoshimura was finally able to wrench himself from Yashiro's death grip. The Hyūga had held on to him even after it was clear that the life had passed from his body, for he no longer bled. Yoshimura reeled back and examined his work. Everything that once flowed through him was now either on Yoshimura's skin and clothing or running down the side of the bark underneath the rain. The rest sat within the corpse, unable to circulate near the wound. The eyes of the menacing ice wielder trailed from the head down of Yashiro's body, stopping when they arrived at the blade still lodged into his stomach. "You should've got away when you had the chance. You knew you weren't going to win this fight," he sighed, disappointed that he was not listened to.
"Are you perhaps getting a little soft, Yoshi-san?" a young female voice chimed. She had a bit of a foreign accent that the boy recognized.
"Pfft," Yoshimura scoffed and turned to face the girl, "the hell are you talking about? My jutsu doesn't lie, I'm ice co—"
"Ah-ah-ah"—the girl approached—"simply because your jutsu insinuates such, doesn't mean that the same applies here," she interjected, poking her left index finger into Yoshimura's chest. The slits of her eyes were in a pool of liquid-platinum, and they scanned her partner's body. "It seems that you had quite the scuffle here as well," she giggled. Yoshimura stood still while her index pressed left of center with his head tilted in silence. His dripping locks of blonde her darkened by the water and strands hung in his face to cover his eyes. The downpour drenched the two individuals, washing the red stains from his skin specifically to reveal the scratches that he had gained. The female's finger dragged across his left peck, boots clicking against the branch as she passed behind him to see the one that laid lifeless.
"Well he's dead now, ain't he, Tano?" Yoshimura rebuttled.
"Well of course, but it took you so long you let our prize get away," she joked, crouching to place her palm against Yashiro's headband and tilt his head up. His eyelids were half closed, but she could still see the empty Byakugan in his sockets.
"She couldn't have gotten that far," announced another, yet deeper male voice. It was the third individual of their team, who sat along a thinner, more elevated branch. This one had short, almost buzzed, brown hair underneath his headband. His features were rough and his facial expressions were stolid. He donned a generic, unzipped, camouflage flak jacket over a black, long-sleeved shirt. He had grey cargo-combat pants tucked into a pair of black, calf-high shinobi sandals. Upon his chin was the beginning of a light stubble. He appeared uninterested in the matters at hand.
"Hey, Ken-san, looks like Yoshi-san courted himself a Hyūga. Isn't that wonderful?"
"Does it have anything to do with our current mission?" he asked.
"No, but it is a neat bonus."
"For you, I guess."
"Don't be so rude Kenji…"—the tone of her voice stiffened—"it's difficult to lighten up the mood, especially with you here," she inserted, turning her head to the right and glancing back at him. Kenji was silent. Tanoshimi reverted her attention to Yashiro. The index and middle finger of her left hand split to pull down the bottom eyelids of the deceased boy simultaneously. She then moved her index to the left, closing the space between the middle and focused only on the adjacent eye. Her right hand shifted in order to hold the head in place while it aided in keeping the lids open. Then without hesitation, three left fingers attacked. The first two were placed above the eyeball while the thumb gouged underneath it. Yoshimura wasn't paying attention at first until he heard the the macabre severing of flesh. He turned to the empty, partially closed socket teaming with fresh blood that rinsed away down pale cheeks in the rain. The sight was enough to cause unease in his gut.
"What the fuck are you doing?" he blurted in confusion. Tanoshimi was already at work removing the second Byakugan.
"These are the entire reason why this one was a special kill. You too might not understand it yet, given that you haven't received this mission"—her nails, clipped the optic nerve—"but it is important to the creed of my family."
"Oh yea…I forgot you were one of them Ryū-kōtetsu, the Dragonsteel. That's your last name isn't it?" Yoshimura hinted.
"Yes, it's been shortened to Ryūketsu over the years due to certain implications, but the meaning is still the same," informed Tanoshimi, rising from her crouched position.
"Why's that?" the boy wondered.
"I'm not obligated to tell you," she said, strutting past him once more, causing him to follow her with his eyes.
"All these years together and I never once asked what your last name was, I'm a terrible partner aren't I," he chuckled, not seeming to mind that self-proclamation.
"If you say so," the girl declaimed with a grin, ogling the pair of Byakugan within her right palm, "but it wasn't your purpose to get to know who I was during that time, was it?"
"No."
"Then I don't think it matters, Yoshi-san."
"Heh, that being said, what d'ya plan on doing with those?"
Tanoshimi's fingers uncurled further, leaving more of the Byakugan to be seen. Within a fraction of a second, the pair of eyes were swallowed by a glowing ignition of inferno. Even though it was surrounded by moderate rainfall, the fire burned with life. The two small spheres in the girl's palm scorched to a crisp, deteriorating into a collection of embers. And with that the eyes were no more. She held the flame out to her comrade, as the demonstration was complete. His question was answered.
"No traces left huh?" he suggested.
"Precisely."
"Well, this was cool and all, but we still have a mission to complete. Grape-eyes is still on the run," Yoshimura reminded.
Tanoshimi's nose twitched, "Not an issue. I have her scent, I know exactly where she is." The female's damp, snow-white hair fluttered around as she turned away from Yoshimura to find Kenji within the leaves. She began a pace along the branch, her mature hips swaying with each step.
"When did you manage to get a whiff of her?" Yoshimura inquired.
Tanoshimi giggled again in the middle of her path, "Don't worry about it. Now, let's go and nourish ourselves, we aren't in a rush afterall. "
Yoshimura rolled his eyes, but when he was about to follow the girl, he was halted by her voice.
"Don't forget your Mieshibō kunai, Yoshi-san, I paid a substantial amount to acquire them."
"Tsk," he muffled, turning back to retrieve his weapon. Yoshimura gazed at the individual he had killed in utter disregard for the value of life. He ruthlessly ripped the kunai from the corpse, using the material of the jacket to give it a clean sweep and then sheathed the blade. The weight of this murder didn't even chip at his soul. His hazel irises were frozen over while he peered, taking in one last view of admiration in his work, signified by the conniving half-smirk. He had done himself a favor by finishing off the Hyūga in such a manner. To him, Yashiro's demise was another trophy that he could add to his collection. But as did the others, that feeling faded. His deed was no longer of significance.
Yoshimura reached into his left pocket after sheathing his kunai and withdrew his favorite golden coin. As he closed the distance between himself and Tanoshimi, he flipped the precious metal into the air. The flat of the coin batted at the oncoming droplets, and water glided off of its surface. He snatched it out of the air once it began to descend. Tanoshimi gestured for Kenji to mobilize with two quick wrist flicks, then she pounced off, leaping through the canopy. Kenji was the second to leave, moving from his stationary spot. Yoshimura lingered for a bit, never looking back at the corpse behind him, but was still searching for something. The boy's head pivoted from right to left, observing his entire field of vision. When his eyes stared down his ten o'clock direction, his left arm lifted from his side. Floating towards him from that direction was a wide chunk of ice he had laying around the area. Within it was the ninjato he disarmed from Akua. Amusement was painted all over his face at the sight of it. "Ah, this here'll be a perfect sign for good luck," he said to himself, pulling the weapon from its frozen prison. Yoshimura tucked the blade into the belt that hooked the kunai to his side before dashing off to follow his teammates.
It only took a few minutes for the pseudo-Amegakure team to arrive at their destination, although it was foreign to Yoshimura since it was created during his battle. It was a makeshift, earthen tunnel that connected to the mountainside and served as a cave-like shelter large enough for the three of them. They were protected from the elements beyond it, the rainshower drops breaking over the solid surface of the jutsu. Compared to the outside it was warm in their shelter, in part due to Tanoshimi's creation of a pitfire. It was here that they prepared their meal before charging into combat again. Deer meat broiled over the searing, open flames, seasoned with the nutrient dense embers from the burning wood. Kenji was no chef, but he knew his fair share of survival tactics, ranging from catching the animal itself to gutting and cooking it. The carcass of the animal was disposed of long before they'd arrived. All he needed to do was tend to the edibles.
A quarter hour went by before anything was ready to eat. The trio remained quiet for the entirety of the time that they had been at the shelter. They were used to minding their own business and it was quite awkward for them when Tanoshimi would try to start conversation. It was obvious that all three individuals hailed from Kusagakure's Genesis program. The group was acquainted with each other, but neither knew the other on a personal level. Teamwork was never stressed as essential to the development of stone cold shinobi. The occasional friendship, however, was unavoidable in some cases between constituents. These kids, from a young age, only ever focused on their ability to fight and perform accordingly in crises. Social skills were not apart of the curriculum either. Therefore, a majority of the Genesis children were social outcasts, completely clueless in how to act around people in public when they weren't out killing. Simple conversation was foreign to them. As always though, there were exceptions. "So, Yoshi-san, how exactly did your encounter with precious little Akua play out?" she started. Yoshimura gnawed into the plump deer meat, chewing with vigor and swallowing before he even thought about answering.
"Well while you two were slacking around for food, I continued on with our mission, you know, the one where we have to capture Grape-eyes?"
"This is a three day test Yoshi-san, and it had only been a few hours. She wasn't going anywhere," the female rolled her eyes.
"Doesn't matter, the longer we wait the more time she has to actually complete the exam. Despite how awful she really is, something as easy as this is still within her ballpark."
Kenji sat in silence around the firepit, observing the conversation of both his teammates. He wasn't known to intrude on anything unless specifically ordered to. Even then, when it came to speaking, he might as well be considered mute. As the fire danced, the shadows that wrapped their bodies and faces mimicked. He watched the wood that he had in crack and splinter underneath the bright flame. His eyes narrowed and a spell of unease settled in. Kenji took a bite into his meal and refocused his attention to his team.
"You still didn't answer my question, Yoshi-san," Tanoshimi continued. She had already consumed her small, selected portion of the deer. Now she sat around the fire with her legs crossed, the right hooked over the left knee. She was leaned over enough that her right elbow rested upon her leg, supporting her tilted head with that same palm against her cheek. She had a habit of moving the part of the leg that hung, rotating in tiny circles about the joint of her knee. Her foot however, was what lead the movement.
"I ended up finding her with my ice mirrors. Turns out she was nearby, traveling by the trees. It was clever but, not enough to keep her away from me," he boasted.
"Then?"
"I caught them off guard and ended up freezing Grape-eyes against a tree. I had to stop myself breaking out into laughter 'cause it was so easy, had to look a little bit menacing."
"So she didn't actually fight you?"
"She was terrified, just like she always was against us, except this time I could've sworn she shit herself," Yoshimura chuckled. "That Hyūga kid stepped forward though so I had my fun with him while it lasted. He put up a good fight, but I was getting bored. I sprinkled in little rays of hope for him—"
"I knew you were getting soft," she drawled.
"Shut up! I was just tryin' to make it fun for myself!"
"Those cuts you have speak for themselves."
"Whatever. Anyway… grape-eyes and that other showed up, broke her out of my ice somehow, and they started to attack. One of 'em had a naginata and was ready to cut me in half but grape-eyes was as hesitant as ever"—he patted the ninjato at his side—"I even disarmed her in the process. All three of them would've had a better chance at taking me down if they fought together, but that Hyūga kid wanted to fight me alone. Noble, but stupid. His devotion killed him. Grape-eyes was quick to agree with him. I guess she really didn't wanna fight me," Yoshimura grinned.
"That's interesting," Tanoshimi pondered, "I wonder why… perhaps spending a month away from us really softened her up."
"Beats me. Kenji, what do you think, you been sittin' there all quiet and shit."
It took a moment before he actually responded, "If you know your enemy and know yourself, there's no reason to fear the result of any battle."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Such a wonderful insight Ken-san," Tanoshimi praised him. There was depth to Kenji's rare speech, and every word was appreciated by those who were able to understand. Otherwise, individuals were left a bit irritated.
"Whatever," Yoshimura continued, "the other two girls showed up again just when I stabbed him with that new kunai. I felt like testing it out, that thing is beautiful. It had him spilling puddles in seconds."
Tanoshimi smiled at the compliment towards the weapons she had acquired for them.
"I don't know how he did it. but he grabbed onto my arm and wouldn't let me go. When I looked around grape-eyes was carrying that other girl away. He used the last of his strength to let them escape."
"Do you think he knew that we were after her?"
"I kinda told him…"
Tanoshimi's face straightened, "You're such an imbecile. I'll be sure to mention you're the one who allowed our target to slip through our fingers."
"Oh please, you got her scent don't you?"
"That's true."
"Then there's no need to worry. All we have to do is capture her, leave these trashy exams and get the information we need out of her." Yoshimura flipped his coin. "Heads or tails?"
"You think it will be that easy? Don't be so naive, Yoshi-san. Akua is still a product of Genesis." Tanoshimi watched as the gold fell into his palm and was pressed onto the roof of the other. "Heads," she guessed.
"I'm not being naive,"—He held up the coin to her without looking—"luck is just on our side."
It was tails.
The rain was outside was light, yet it was still able to make surfaces slippery. Such was the case when Akua's left leg slid out from underneath her in the middle of bringing her right forward during her sprint. A smooth stone was her downfall, and with the weight of Usagi upon her back, she wasn't able to catch herself on time. But it was almost as if she didn't want to. Thus due to her clumsiness, she ate mud, splashing herself and Usagi into the rain-soaked soil. Her teammate's body rolled around before it came to a stop in front of her. Akua glided along the ground until her head was stopped by the girl's unconscious torso. With the rain falling against her back, she laid in the ground for several minutes before she decided to peel her face from its muddy mold. She got to her hands and knees, digging her fingers through the mess. Her arms trembled when she realized where she was. She sat back against her legs and tilted her head up towards the sky. The Uchiha stared aimlessly, her eyes an amethyst beacon to anything that flew above, if only there was any sunlight. Water droplets pelted her skin, beginning to rinse the sludge from face. Now her arms hung at her sides in the wet dirt. Her eyelids narrowed and her lips parted. Her blank expression twisted into frustration and her right fist swung to beat into the ground, displacing the viscous mixture earth and water. "GRAH! UGH!" she grunted, hunching over to the floor again. "Why…" she asked herself. There was no one around to hear her other than Usagi, but she wasn't able to at the moment. Akua was alone in the muddy grass field. Anything could have attacked her at this point, but the world seemed to ignore her.
Akua staggered to her feet. The soles of her sandals sank into the mud under her weight as she did. She took large steps in order to lug them across the path. The rest of her body, except for parts of her back, was a brown canvas. As for Usagi, one would have tripped over her body because of the way she melded with the ground. To an outsider it looked like they had a wrestling match in the muck. Akua approached her friend and dragged from the muddy bed she laid in. There was an end to the small clearing ahead of them, another collection trees. She was eager to get there, the forestry would provide them protection. The terrain was also more solid. Boulders and stony fragments scattered area between the trees due to there being short mountain structure behind it. Akua continued her pace, now stepping with more care in that direction. She turned back for a second, almost forgetting the naginata. Usagi was against her back again, and she carried her the entire way.
The Uchiha stumbled through a shallow creek towards an crevice in the ground near the side of the mountain. As she got closer, she realized it was a small, hollowed out opening. It didn't seem to have any other inhabitants or materials nearby, so she considered it safe for them to take shelter in. Similar to their previous abode, it was a cave like structure. The opening gave way to a clear, spacious area large enough to fit about fifteen people. The entrance had a rocky slope downwards that led to a bedrock flooring that was flat at the center. The moss, grass and soil of the forest followed into the cave, but became less prevalent as one travelled deeper. Dim rays light found its way inside, but only lit around the opening. The rest was shrouded in darkness. Akua rested Usagi against the wall and the naginata in her lap. She was aware that her friend would stir soon in anger and confusion. Preparations for it were already made. The Uchiha sighed as she examined the rest of the cave which was unseeable from the outside. Her stomach growled in the middle of her search. The figured that Usagi would feel the same when she woke, therefore, she decided to find food. Akua made sure her friend was hidden within the cave before crawling up the slope to the entrance. She took one last glance at behind her before dashing away.
When she returned, Usagi was still unconscious. Akua had a large leaf of several hundred blueberries that she picked in her hands and a net hanging from her teeth with three trout she caught from the creek. She placed what she'd gathered near the center of the cave then left again. The girl returned again with a cluster of wood for a fire. She dropped the wet branch fragments onto the ground and held a tiger seal. Using her ninjutsu was the only way she would be able to spark any flame. The cave flashed a bright shade of orange as Akua knelt, exhaling a breath of fire against the wood. The crackling of the organic material followed as the flame spread and began to grow to maturity. After getting the fire started, she pulled out one of her kunai and sliced into the bodies of the fish she captured, scaling them and deftly slicing out the intestines and other organs and revealing the edible meat. There were three clean sticks left over from when she was prodding the fish, and two large stones that she'd carried across the cave and placed at either side of the fire pit. She used these to lay each fish across the flame by the sticks.
Akua rose to her feet, turning around to see her friend a few feet away. She was charging. Usagi collided into Akua, leading with her shoulder in her stomach, and tackling her to the ground. The two travelled over the flame, nearly putting it out before they landed. Akua struggled to get up, but Usagi had her straddled and was clung to her body. The Uchiha felt her throat tightening. Usagi had her left hand clenched around it. Her teammate's muddy face came into her vision. Usagi's fury burned through, and the next thing Akua saw was the side of the cave. Usagi's right hook stunned the girl. All her movements and attempts to get free ceased. Akua's throat was released and both cheeks were being battered by a pair of knuckles. She could hear her friend's grunts and cries but couldn't see anything, her hair got in the way. Everything was silent now, except for Usagi's breathing. Akua turned her head to face her. The Uchiha's dirty cheeks were bruised and the left side of her lip was split open. A trail of blood trickled from her right nostril as well. When their gazes met, Usagi screeched, swinging her body from the girl and stumbling into the stone. Teardrops fell and stung the cuts on Akua's cheek when Usagi removed herself. The distressed Shimura was now in the corner of the cave. "You fucking bitch!" she cursed, grabbing her naginata and smashing it into the wall of earth. Fragments exploded from impact and crumbled at her feet. Rage fueled the rest of her violent strikes, "FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!" Each hit was accompanied by a verbal outburst. But it would eventually break down into a whimpering sob, " …Fuck! …fuc..! …fu…" Usagi's words were replaced by her tears. The girl collapsed to her knees, using the naginata as support to keep herself from thudding into the stone. Akua stared into the stalactite ceiling and listened to her weeping comrade while she lay. "AHHHHHHH!" Usagi wailed into the floor. The deafening sound frightened several birds from their nests, even though it was pouring outside. The girl's body spun around her naginata and she fell onto her bottom. The weapon was chucked across the cave, soaring over Akua's view and clamoring against the wall and floor until it came to a skidding stop behind her.
Akua, after a few minutes, pulled herself together and sat up. Usagi hung her head, hugging her knees and trembling. There wasn't a word of conversation between the two. Akua didn't want to press it yet. Instead, she decided that she would leave her alone for the time being. The young girl approached the flame and sat near it, turning each fish to its other side so it wouldn't burn. Akua pulled her knees in while she watched the fish broil in the fire, and the amber light reflected in her violet eyes. When the fish was ready, Akua took two of the sticks within her grasp and removed the third from the flame. With them, she approached Usagi carefully. She made it all the way in front of her without another fit of rage from the girl. Usagi was able to tell she was closing in by the way Akua's shadow loomed in front of her. "What do you want," Usagi muttered.
"Here," Akua replied, holding a fish forward.
"I'm not hungry."
"You need to eat, we can't finish this test on empty stomachs."
"So that's it huh? Heh, I should've known. Our teammate is lying dead somewhere in the middle of the forest of a fucking floating island, and all you can think about is finishing the test. All you think about is yourself and only yourself."
"That's not tru—"
"Not true? Don't fucking bullshit me, Akua." She glared into the girl's eyes now. "You were afraid the moment to set foot onto this island. Hell, you were afraid even before the first exam. And you were afraid to fight that blonde piece of shit. Now Yashiro is gone because of you. His blood is on your hands because you couldn't stop thinking about your own goddamn well-being for a second to help. If all three of us had just fought together the moment we got the chance then we could have all walked out alive. But of course, you didn't want to fight and Yashiro payed for it. I should've just ignored him and left you in the ice. At least then, I could have done something." Usagi slapped Akua's hand away, "I don't want shit from you."
"I wasn't afraid for my own well being," Akua rebuttled, "I was afraid of not being able to protect the both of you. I was scared and reluctant that if we engaged in battle with Yoshimura, his teammates would arrive in his aid. I just… wanted to avoid it all. I wasn't doubting our abilities, I was petrified of theirs." Akua sank to her knees then sat in front of Usagi, diverting her eyes to the ground. "But Yashiro's confidence gave me hope. I wanted to trust him, trust that he would be able to hold out until we got back… but now… I blame myself for making that decision. I should've insisted that we helped him, and if I could go back and do it over again I would. But I can't"—she faced Usagi again—"he's gone, and there's nothing we can do to bring him back. If you want to hate me for the rest of your life, then I accept your feelings, but don't let Yashiro's death be in vain. The least I can do… the least we can do now is the finish what we started. For him."
"Tsk, you still don't get it do you."
"What do you mean?"
"The reason for everything he did. The reason why he stepped up to fight and kept me from doing so. The reason he insisted that he fought by himself. Did you think it was a coincidence he sent us away to get the scroll?"
Akua gulped down.
"As long as you're alive, his death won't be in vain. He didn't do all this for just Team 5. He did it specifically because and for you. You are the reason his body is cold, because he felt for you. He felt enough to throw his life away so that you could live."
There were no words that Akua could formulate. Her eyelids were frozen open upon the revelation. This was what she was pondering, the answer to a question she thought would never come. It was all too simple.
"Love kills, Akua."
Akua's eyelids glazed down. Her facial expression fell neutral now, devoid of emotion. "I don't deserve his intimate feelings." Akua searched her heart endlessly, but there was nothing but guilt and pity for Yashiro. She knew that deep down, she probably would have never been able to return those feelings. Now her chest writhed. The boy she once knew had thrown his life away for naught.
"Anyone with a brain could see that he liked you in some way. Do you even feel anything for him?"
Akua was silent.
"I figured. You might as well just spit on his grave, dontcha think?"
"No. He was our teammate."
"Stop lying to yourself. It disgusts me that after this, you still consider yourself apart of our team."
"You were the one who insisted I was, Usagi. You wouldn't abandon me when I told you to. I am apart of this team. If you're going to let your anger over Yashiro's death revoke that, fine. But you can't stop me from helping you, you can't stop me from contributing, and you can't stop me from thinking that I belong here."
Usagi was stopped in her tracks. She couldn't think of a sly remark. Everything Akua said was true. Usagi did have a chance to leave the girl. In fact, Akua urged her to leave her be, but she herself refused obey. She wanted to help Akua because she considered her apart of the team. Usagi had only contradicted herself just now by implying that she wasn't. Evidently, some of the blame for Yashiro's demise fell on her shoulders. Akua wasn't the only one making decisions, something Usagi failed to realize until now. She could see now that both of them were grieving. Both were affected by Yashiro's own decision. Both of them were now alive because he made that decision.
Akua felt her fingers being brushed, opening against her will. The stick she held in her left hand was removed and when she tilted her gaze up, Usagi's teeth crunched into the crispy fish. Akua's mouth hung open, surprised that her offering was accepted. "You should eat," Usagi suggested, "your food is gonna get cold."
The two girls tried to relax as best they could, but it was difficult considering the morning of horror that they had just been through. Everything seemed empty without Yashiro there. An hour and a half passed since the hostile atmosphere of their hideaway changed. Usagi opened up and accepted the food Akua gathered for them. The grapes were split, and the last fish was shared. The spent the rest of that time sitting motionless and sifting through their thoughts. "Hey, Akua," Usagi called, turning her head to the left to see her.
"Yea?"
"Why exactly were you afraid for our lives, beyond the natural reaction I mean. What makes that dude and the others so terrifying?"
"I'd have to tell you a little bit about myself to answer that," Akua sighed.
"I'm listening."
Akua glanced at Usagi in the corner of her eyes then returned her gaze towards the dying fire. She pulled herself from her slouched position against the wall and bent her knees. She folded her forearms across them and rested her chin on top of that before she spoke. "Well, they all come from the same village as me. They're not actually from Amegakure, they're from Kusagakure."
"So you have personal knowledge of who they are?"
Akua nodded, "All three of us come from this program called Genesis. It takes kids from about the age they're able to walk and start molding them into shinobi."
"What the hell… how is that even legal?"
"The program is funded by the country. The government actually draft the participants beyond the will of their guardians."
"So this program has bred them into killing machines, huh?"
"Yea… at their age, it'd be like going up against three jonin level ninja in an exam filled with genin. Anyone who isn't already at that level by then is either dead or being whipped into shape."
"What about you? You don't think you compare to them?"
"I have no idea… I haven't actually seen them in a few months despite me migrating to Konoha recently. I wasn't ever able to defeat either of them. They're here," Akua paused for a moment, deciding to speak about her mother's theft but elected not to, "…they're here with the intent to kill."
"You shouldn't doubt yourself like that, you dumbass."
"All three of them are leagues ahead of me, ready to kill at a moment's notice. I've never been able to kill anyone." Akua sunk, burying her face in between her arms. Her guilt about Yashiro began to settle in again. Had she attacked Yoshimura with the intent to kill, perhaps it would have changed the course of events. The thought of Yashiro being able to sense her fear caused her to sink her head further.
"Hey, I know I teased you about it before, but there's nothing wrong with not being able to kill someone. I've never actually taken a life before. I don't think I even could if I had the option."
Akua's head lifted to look towards Usagi. The mutual confession between the two made her feel a bit more comfortable. "We can't stay like this. We'll have to overcome that if we're going to be shinobi."
Usagi sighed, "Sometimes I wonder why I even decided to become a ninja… for my family? For Konoha? I don't know… I was so excited when I graduated and became a genin, but during my first Chunin exam, everything became so real. Now, both of my original teammates are gone." Her fingers ran through her auburn bangs, laced with dry dirt. "Do you still have a reason?"
"I do. I have a twin brother that I need to find. I'll have to beat this cruel world to do it. He was my original reason. Now I have a few more, including Yashiro's sacrifice."
Usagi glanced at Akua as she spoke. Her resolve was empowering enough to respark the light in her dim, amber eyes. "I should listen to you more, you actually say some good things even though you're just a kid"—she picked herself up from her seat—"I think I've found my reason."
"Really?"
"Mhm. Yashiro was my best friend, so I'm going to do this for him like you said. And I'm going to do it for you too. He gave his life for you and I won't let it go to waste."
Akua turned away, feeling undeserving of Usagi's sudden declaration, "I should have told you about me long before this. Maybe then, we'd have…"
Usagi made her way across the cave to retrieve her naginata while Akua's voice trailed off.
"Look, I'm sorry for what I said to you awhile ago. My emotions were speaking for me. My heart still aches, and I'm sure yours does too, but we can't mourn anymore. We'll both be dead soon and Yashiro wouldn't want that now, would he?"
Akua shook her head.
"Then we gotta complete this test. For Yashiro." The rough, pole end of the naginata was slammed into the stone.
"For Yashiro," Akua repeated.
"By the way, back when… you know… your eyes are you—"
"Yes," the Uchiha interrupted, "You can't tell anyone ok… I have to keep it a secret."
"…We can talk about it more later, we got a job to finish."
And with that last word, the fire that lit the cave burned through the last of the wooden material and was choked away. Darkness shrouded the cave once more. The two girls carried the weight of Yashiro's sacrifice evenly, determined to see the exams to the end. All they had to do was obtain an Earth scroll and locate the Thunder Gate tower. Avoiding the Genesis team was top priority. They both realized that they were outnumbered and outclassed. Their survival depended on it. Unfortunately they had already made several mistakes.
*Heads up, it's going to get quite violent here. Feel free to skip to the end, there'll be a short summary of what occurred.*
Akua and Usagi crept out into the open, careful to keep from attracting any unwanted attention. The rain continued its gentle pouring. The forest was still and the wind hardly whistled. Everything was silent and the coast was clear. Usagi was the first to jump through the entrance of the cave, followed by Akua. Akua examined the area before her, looking from left to right several times. Her head tilted to find anything that might try to approach from above. When her view returned, Usagi was already across the creek, ten meters into the forestry. "Usagi! What are you doing!" she whispered.
"Akua… I hear something!" she responded in the same low tone, "I think it's… Yashiro…"
Akua wasn't able to hear anything except for the sound of Usagi's steps squishing against soft mud. Something was wrong. Akua narrowed her eyes, approaching Usagi as the violet irises melted to a dark crimson. When the three tomoe spiraled around Akua's pupil, she was able to discern what was happening. Usagi's chakra flow was being distorted. "Genjutsu!" Akua concluded. Her slow approach hastened into a sprint. She grabbed onto her delusional friend. "Come on, we gotta go," she blurted out, wrenching her from the confines of the illusion. Akua didn't wait for Usagi to respond, she was already dragging the girl.
"What the hell is going on!" Usagi shouted, regaining control of herself.
"You were just trapped under a genjutsu… someone is messing with us." Both females were now sprinting through the rain, leaving tracks in the muddy trail. They slide to a messy halt when a wall of earth erupted from the ground to block their path. The two took a detour to the right, instead, continuing in that direction until a flurry of jagged ice stakes cut through the droplets and pegged into the soil. Akua and Usagi had to dive in opposite directions in order to evade them. "How is this even possible…there's no way… " Akua bulldozed through her thoughts. Her eyes desperately searched the surroundings, ready to fall out of her head because of the way they abruptly changed direction. She saw one body of chakra to her left, and another to her right. Neither of them were Usagi's, whom was standing a few meters in front her her on the other side of the ice. "Where the hell is—"
The thought was cut short when she turned to her six. Her head reeled back under the force of a flat metal slamming into her temple. The last thing Akua saw was the of sole of a boot smeared with tracks of mud before she found herself crashing through several feet of ice. Her back straightened out against a tree behind Usagi. The Shimura only saw the black blur that was Akua's body before momentum carried fragments of ice into her. Usagi glanced at her teammate stunned at the base of the tree, then turned her head forwards. There was a white haired, teenaged girl about her age with her right leg extended in the position of a completed side-kick. The soles of her boots were clad in steel. The girl brought her leg down to her side and ran her left hand through her hair. Usagi's gaze met her own. Tanoshimi's slitted platinum eyes overflowed with a crazed bloodlust. "I'll take a page out of Yoshimura's book for you since I think you're a little cute; run away while you have the chance. You'll be doing everyone a favor."
Usagi, like the stubborn individual she was, did the exact opposite. She braced her naginata in her fighting stance, pointing it towards Tanoshimi and stepped in front of Akua. Usagi was no sensor type, but at this range the chakra she felt was devastating to her psyche. It was like the energy radiating from the white haired girl was trying to strangle her. She'd never felt anything as malicious as this. It dwarfed the feeling she had when Yoshimura first made an appearance. Her body was now trembling, and her vision blurred. She wasn't able to react quick enough when Tanoshimi lunged without mercy.
Usagi's next blink had Tanoshimi's palm in her face. Akua had the girl's right arm clenched at the wrist with her left hand. When the silver of a weapon glinted, Akua's other hand was ready. She stopped the the underhook of Tanoshimi's left hand by crossing right arm underneath her own left to meet it. The Mieshibō kunai was stuck in a struggle in between them. Akua's sharingan burned with a crimson that forced her eyes open in fury. The Genesis female seemed fascinated in Akua's eyes rather than terrified. "I see, the same pair of eyes as your brother I see, I guess abomination runs in the family," she teased.
"Don't you talk about him..!" Akua growled. She broke their stalemate by ripping her arms away in order leave her opponent open for another attack. Akua's roundhouse kick however, only displaced the rain. She then found herself in the air, leaping over the supposed underground surprise attack by Kenji. His hands sprouted from underneath the mud, but he wasn't able to grab hold of her. It was as if she had seen it all coming before it happened. There was now a kunai within her grasp while she was in mid air that deflected an oncoming weapon. There was a clack of metal. Akua noticed a sickle, attached to a rattling chain, that was reeling back from her kunai. It was Tanoshimi's summoned kusarigama. Akua's feet hit the ground now, crouched into a low base. Standing in between Tanoshimi and Kenji, her eyes darted back and forth to each of them. Her vision was as clear as day. Everything slowed down for her. It was the first time she engaged in real time combat with her Sharingan since her training with Kakashi. It was also the first time she had fought either Kenji or Tanoshimi with in. The three wasted no time to continue their battle, however.
Usagi's vision panned around the area. She was overwhelmed by the fluctuations in chakra levels. Everyone, including Akua, had powerful auras around them that made the girl hesitate before helping her friend. Kenji and Tanoshimi were not approaching Akua the way Yoshimura originally approached them. Those two were genuinely ready to kill the girl at any moment. It was then that she realized the magnitude of Akua's fear. She had to experience her worthlessness herself before she accepted that these individuals were out of her league. Everything was happening at a blinding speed. Her eyes couldn't keep up with them. The naginata trembled along with her, still standing in her same spot.
At this point, Akua was being tossed around, barely able to defend herself due to fatigue. Tanoshimi's gyrating kusarigama chain swung down with an earth splitting rotational force. Akua shielded herself again with the kunai, but Tanoshimi lashed at the chain, causing the blade to rebound about another axis. It pulled from underneath Akua this time and a tore away at the fabric of her hoodie and sliced into left tricep. Blood mixed into the mud as it dripped from the deep, muscle severing wound. The Uchiha's teeth were clenched, biting down the pain. She had to fight through it. Immediately after that was Kenji's sailing round-house. As Akua ducked underneath that right leg, Kenji's body was making a complete, 360 degree turn. In that instant, her own jumping, left round-house was ready to blindside the boy. Kenji didn't leave himself unprepared however. His forearms were held together in front of his face. Not only that, they were clad in a sudden layer of metal. It was his steel release kekkei genkai. Akua fell into the trap. She always had a habit of immediately following up an attack that made her duck with her own version of a round-house kick. This time it would come back to haunt her. Akua's left shin bone crumbled against Kenji's steel forearms. The pain throbbed through her leg, punched through her chest and supercharged her brain with the signals it received. An empty scream of agony filled her throat and left her jaw open. The humming of the steel sounded as she was batted into the mud. "Hmph," Kenji grunted.
"Those eyes of yours seemed to have made your combat a little more fluid, but you're still all too predictable, little Akua," Tanoshimi taunted. "Now why don't you sit down and give us what we want."
Akua wallowed in the mud, holding on to her fragmented tibia. "Fuck you…" she cursed, her face half buried into the murky ground.
"You're a little bit too young to have a foul mouth," scolded Tanoshimi.
It was imperative that Usagi acted now. Akua, as much as she tried, could no longer defend herself properly. The Shimura clenched her naginata, almost crushing the handle within her grasp. With a horizontal slash, a shockwave of wind style chakra cleaved through the rain. Kenji landed in front of Tanoshimi as it approached, effortlessly breaking the current around his body. The remaining halves of it severed full grown oaks from their roots behind the two Genesis teens. The enormous wooden bodies toppled over and quaked the earth upon impact. Usagi couldn't believe her eyes. The wind style had no effect on his body. Its entirety was covered in a sleek layer of steel. Regardless of the odds, she charged forward.
Akua tried to pick herself up from the ground to her friend, but she knew she wouldn't make it in time, so she had to scream, "Usagi! Get dow—"
Skin was pierced and blood spilled. There was a spear of ice lodged into Usagi's back. The cold tip burrowed through her ribcage, slightly puncturing her lung. This jutsu was familiar to her, and a deep-set hatred mustered in her chest. It was what kept her from collapsing.
"Pew! Looks like we got a griever!" Yoshimura shouted with a makeshift finger gun pointed towards the girl. All she saw was a target on his forehead. She could no longer keep her anger at bay, it gnawed away at her being. This was the one responsible for the death of her best friend and something had to be done. Usagi pulled the ice from her back despite the injury she was supposed to have. Blood was draining into her lung in small amounts but she didn't seem to care. The death of the individual that stood in her line of sight was more important. Revenge filled the space in her veins where blood could not. He was standing almost within cutting distance when she leaped into the air after him, but she was suddenly restricted by a sickeningly solid thud.
Usagi's pupils shrunk to tiny dots in the center of her irises, and the head of Tanoshimi's kusarigama horizontally buried into her lower spine. Although Akua was unable to see, the blade was actually protruding through her core. Usagi's throat and mouth was filled with the thick taste of iron. The carmine liquid flowed independent of the rain that touched it. "NO!" Akua bawled. Tanoshimi yanked and the blade complied. All the flesh, and every organ on the right side of Usagi's lower abdomen made way for the weapon to exit her body. Akua watched as her friend's back hit the floor. The soil was being dyed a new color as she laid there. The sharingan was able to analyze what was going on within Usagi's body by the way her chakra flowed. At the moment, the wavelength of her friend's chakra signature was erratic, imitating the actions of her heart. She was going through shock.
Akua witnessed her comrade cover up the wound at her right side. She was still breathing, but barely. Usagi attempted to move her body, but it didn't seem like her legs were working anymore. Instead she, she laid still to keep her heart from beating any faster. The Mystical Palm technique, which she picked up from Sakura, was activated upon herself in an attempt to stabilize her body. There was no time for laying around anymore. Akua limped on her right leg now, refusing to stay down. She was fighting more than one battle, the internal conflict of pain as well as fending off the killers that surrounded her. The stress, anxiety, anger, every heart twisting emotion carved a piece out of her chest. Mud dripped in small lumps from her hoodie, but the entire article of clothing retained the grainy, chestnut color. When she became more aware of her body, she was gasping for oxygen. The altitude disadvantage was taking its toll again. Akua was stumbling forward to reach her teammate in need. She couldn't formulate a clear course of action once she got there, but being at her side was first and foremost. The path was blocked. "I told that acquaintance of yours to run away when she had the chance," Tanoshimi claimed. Akua noticed within her right palm was the handle of the sickle. The rain washed the blood stains from the curve of the blade. Akua's body moved with the luster of the undead, her right fist swung for the devil in front of her. Tanoshimi leaned to her left, allowing Akua's momentum to pull her forward. The Uchiha would of staggered into the floor if Tanoshimi didn't bend her torso with a blunt strike of the handle end of her sickle. She continued with that emotion and used the weapon to throw Akua back into Kenji's firm elbow to the spine. The Uchiha ricocheted in the direction from whence she came. She caught herself during that motion with her feet against the ground, but was greeted by a violent blow of Tanoshimi's left fist, followed up by the right. Both impacts rattled the flesh of her cheeks and drew blood from the inside of her mouth and nose. "We can't kill you yet," she waited as Akua dropped to her knees, splashing the mud around them. Her head was on a loose pivot about her neck. "You and your mother have something that belongs to us. Now be a good girl and stay down"—Tanoshimi's left leg lashed around into Akua's temple—"so we can take you home."
The force pushed Akua an entire 15 meters away from where she was. Her front side sunk into the mud again. Had she gone any further she would been stopped by the roots of one of the towering oak trees. The left side of her face was hidden underneath the saturated topsoil. Her right eye, the only one she could see through at the moment, couldn't process the images it saw. Her vision was a hazy blur. Her body was betraying her. She tried to tell it to get up, but it refused to respond. She was able to see Usagi's vitals diminishing from the way the color of her chakra dimmed. She was doing everything she could to save herself. Akua's numb face flinched and a glossy coating obscured her vision, becoming aware of the tears that streamed from her ducts and across the bridge of her bruised nosed. Her consciousness was fading away. "Why can't I…" she pondered, "why am I so powerless…" The sound of the rain pattering against the leaves and ground was less audible now. "I can't protect anyone… why…"
"Because you're WEAK…" snarled an disembodied voice. There were two overlapping sounds that created it. One of them was the demonic, guttural speech of someone or something that seemed to be male, and the elegant murmurs of a female. Akua's eyes flashed open to what seemed to be an endless plane, marked by a violet-gradient atmosphere that faded into pitch black. Akua gazed into that void before turning her head to the side. The ripples of liquid panned out as she did. She was floating in a vast ocean, with no sign of anything in sight. Along the horizon was where the violet gradient was the brightest. The crystalline liquid she sifted in produced a dim light that naturally resonated from the surface. Akua sat up from her waterbed, but her skin and clothing weren't wet and it was surprisingly shallow. Her sandals were only submerged to the ankles. "Where am I… who are you… where are you..?" Akua looked to her left and right. "Your friends are dying… because you're WEAK."
"Shut up!" Akua turned abruptly to figure out where the voice was coming from. There was no one in this plane with her. She began to feel that shivering cold feeling in her right shoulder again.
"More of your friends will die if you stay like this…"
"Stop it! Who are you!" she screamed.
"You won't be able to protect your mother… you won't be able to save your brother… because you're weak."
"You're wrong..!" Akua's composure began to deteriorate. Tears flowed like rapids down her cheeks. Her body turned in every which way, splashing the water around in confusion.
"You're weak because you're selfish."
"…What…what are you talking about…" She stopped moving, her body trembling from her sobbing.
"You don't want to soil your hands with blood, just as long as you're okay, other people can die. Your friend was right about you… you're SELFISH!"
"NO!" Akua screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Then you want to protect those who matter to you…" the mixed voice growled.
"I will protect them..!"
"Even if it meant soiling those precious hands?"
"Yes..!"
"Even if it meant siphoning life…"
"YES!" Her vehement voice echoed throughout the plane, rocking her entire upper body as she cried out with her eyes shut tight. The scream left her breathless and panting afterwards. Her bangs matted to her sweaty forehead with some hanging in her eyes. She didn't notice the chill of her shoulder had spread throughout her. A black, ink-like substance sprouted from a point in her neck that previously had crimson discoloration around a single dot, as if something punctured her. The black ink pooled out, more viscous than that of blood but more flexible in its motion with a mind of its own. Thin appendages formed from it and crawled along her neck, down her shoulder, and up the skin of her cheek. Complexion washed out to a pale white, and the veins that would have been hidden were now a visible gray through her flesh.
"Good…now destroy your enemies."
Akua gave into the temptation. Her body dropped to its knees, displacing the liquid she stood in. The ink was accumulated along her arm in such and abundance that it dripped into the waters. Those fragments latched onto her legs to engulf her from the bottom up. The Uchiha reeled her head back for an inaudible shout. Her jaw was locked open. The vein like tendrils even hooked around into her mouth. Akua's body eventually became a black blob of a human being. The inke converged on her eyes, bleeding into her once white sclera and forced the activation of her beaming Sharingan.
Yoshimura stepped over Usagi's body and made his way over to Akua, who was face-planted into the mud. He didn't notice the paling of her skin, nor did he see her black veins. He had his coin in his right palm, ready to flip it. "Hey Tanoshimi, I think you knocked her out. She's valuable now ain't she?" he laughed. The boy's feet stopped a few inches away from her head. He lifted his right foot and stomped her cranium further into the ground. "That's where unlucky trash like you deserve to be," he said to her. His foot continued to grind her face in. Tanoshimi, who was a few meters away felt uneasy. She squinted at Akua's unconscious body. Something was off. There was a brush of chakra that only she could detect being suctioned in the direction of Akua's body. A switch flickered in her mind once she realized what was happening.
"Yoshimura, stop it…"
"For what?" he ignored her for a moment before complying, "Tsk, Kenji, come get grape-eyes." Yoshimura flipped his golden coin into the air. It made several rotations before reaching the top of it's flight. Tanoshimi's eyes widened at the spectacle. For the first time ever, the coin hit the floor, falling right past Yoshimura's hand. The boy himself was confused as to why he wasn't able to catch the coin. His arm wouldn't move, it was stunned. When he blinked, there was crackling, black and white light glowing from underneath his vision. The gold coin in the mud was energized by a tiny spark, but was soon drowned by several drops of thick garnet.
"You don't seem too lucky right now," announced the low voice of the female behind him. He experienced emotions that were foreign to him. The most prevalent was a fear that wrenched his soul from the shell of his body. Yoshimura's eyes widened in disbelief. He mustered the audacity to tilt his head down into the brilliance of the light. In between the flickering was the was a right hand that hung from from the left side of his chest, black with his blood. The muscle that pumped life through his veins didn't exist anymore. At that moment, the vicious, chirping frequency of lightning was audible to him. "Does it hurt?" The gleam of Akua's left Sharingan swallowed the color of her tomoe. Thunder roared and Yoshimura's chest was swallowed. The coughing up of his blood was dwarfed by the amount that splashed in full quarts from the opening of his chest. The words in his throat was clogged. Akua curled the fingers of her right hand around before clenching her fist. Without remorse, she ripped her arm out of the hole she bore and booted him into the awaiting mud.
There was a sudden comprehension of the events that occurred within a matter of three seconds. All Kenji and Tanoshimi saw was Yoshimura in the ground, and the black silhouette of what seemed to be Akua right near him. Akua's glowing crimson gaze snapped towards them, the only contrast amongst the clouded sky and the dark ambience it created. The black and white chakra she clenched in her right hand amplified under the shower of the rain. Kenji, who had just pieced what happened together, was compelled to act. The most apathetic of the team surprisingly felt rage when he realized what Akua had done. The mission didn't matter to him anymore. Within a blink, the sleek sheen of his silver clad body thudded in front of Akua's left, avoiding the death she wielded on the other side. His wheeling right leg was aimed for her skull. He was ready to punt her head across a hundred meter field. Yet, he was stopped by the lazy movement of the Akua's left palm. All the potential force vanished in an instant. His shin was as soft as cotton to her. Her arm extended out and pushed him open to the side. The right hand hooked around. Kenji tried to reach for it, but she was already crunching into the side of his torso, with her fingers, like a sheet of tin foil. He didn't have time to yell, Akua's arm already whipped his back through the entirety of an oak trunk within that instant. Wisps of sparking white lightning trailed in his wake. The length of the tree collapsed onto the field, splitting the distance between Tanoshimi and Akua.
Akua's attention was focused upon her now. But there was a throbbing in her chest. The Uchiha bent over, coughing up blood that was inked black. Her Raikiri technique died immediately. The sudden transformation was placing a great stress on her body. Her job wasn't finished, however. Tanoshimi caught a glimpse of her pale face, laced with solid black veins that converged from her right temple and cheek to the corner of her eye on that side. Tanoshimi could see the powerful chakra quelling, but it still was enough to peel the flesh from her bones just by standing near it, it seemed. Akua vanished. She was in the air now where Tanoshimi spotted her. The white haired girl wasted no time in casting her hand seals. "Fire Release…" she said, locking her fingers into the dragon seal. Her chest expanded as she inhaled and pursed her lips, "Ancient Dragon-Fire Bomb..!" Akua's view of Tanoshimi was replaced by a wall of screeching inferno that illuminated the light deprived forest, vaporizing the rain that kissed it. The flames coiled and jaws unhinged to resemble that of an eastern dragon. It's maw spread to engulf Akua in its burning hell. And so it did. The Uchiha's body vanished within the stream, causing Tanoshimi to relax. However, her heart fell into her stomach when Akua's body burst from the fire. The Ryūketsu's jutsu was dispelled as she tunneled through. The scorched fragments of the crimson eyed beast's hoodie peeled from her body, revealing the black, fitted tank top she wore underneath. Her gloves seared away as well. The light from Akua's eyes awed Tanoshimi as she approached with her arms crossed in front of her. Her platinum irises were painted over by it. A heel dropped into the top of Tanoshimi's cranium, the impact knocking the vision from her eyes. As her head tilted down, Akua's right foot caved into her stomach, firing the girl through about a dozen oak trees, aligned along the two hundred meter path with a human sized chunk ripped out of them.
The chakra that stained the atmosphere was peeling away from the young girl who stood alone in the rain. Her left hand clenched her right shoulder and she fell to her right knee. The chilled sensation within her body was being forced back to where it originated. "Get out… of my head!" she grunted. There was a sub-hellish cry that echoed, independent of Akua's voice. The tight clench around her heart was unravelled, leaving her breathless after the episode. The girl gasped for oxygen during her state of wide-eyed shock. She was confused as to why the Genesis team was no longer around her, but when she turned to see Yoshimura in the ground, everything flooded in. Akua flung herself into a crawl towards the auburn girl that laid in the mud a few meters from the boy. She slid to her knees and searched Usagi with her eyes to figure out what she could do. Her hands pressed against her wound to help her stop the bleeding, but at this point Usagi's healing technique had lost its emerald luster. "Usagi, come on, get up," she begged, "get up..!" She attempted to pull the girl by her arm but she wouldn't budge. Akua took hold of her left and held it to her own chest, "Come on, don't die on me! Don't make me go back alone!" Akua squeezed her hand in hopes that she would do the same. She felt Usagi's grip, then nothing. Her fingers were simply touching her palm. Tears dropped onto Usagi's cheek and fell around her face. Her lips tried to form words but her throat was already sealed with blood. Her eyelids were heavy and narrowed, letting the tears that developed spill from the corners of her eyes. Akua watched her shake her head to the words she was trying convey. The concept of her survival was long gone. Usagi's left arm dropped into the mud, slipping from Akua's grasp. The last tear trailed down her temple. Her eyes were void of any light, and her eyelids no longer narrowed, left half open. The only activity was the weeping of the heavens that washed the stains from her face.
Akua sat back against her legs. Her Sharingan tapered back to her original violet iris. The girl gazed directly into the sky, peering through her messy bangs. Her facial expression devolved from melancholy to apathy. Her head hung down to stare into her palms. She couldn't recognize the color of her skin as her own.
The shuffling of an individual was picked up by her ears. Yoshimura turned over to his back, hanging on by a thread. He tried to freeze the gaping hole Akua left, but he couldn't knead his chakra. Akua rose from her knees, limping on her right leg, away from Usagi's corpse. Although in an inverted view, Yoshimura was able to see her kneeling above him. The girl pulled her ninjato from his waist and wielded it in both hands. He gazed up into the eyes he teased for years. It was the first time he acknowledge something colder than the icy ninjutsu he so praised. Then there was nothing. The hand he tried to freeze his chest with no longer functioned. Akua pulled the steel from the center of his forehead dragging out soft-tissue matter and a fresh crimson fountain. She reached to his pouch and withdrew a navy blue scroll. The kanji for earth was printed upon it.
Within half an hour the rain had stopped. Kenji collapsed to his hands and knees right before Tanoshimi's body. She laid on her side with a crumbling shield of solid blood that she manifested on her back. Without it, she wouldn't have survived the devastating attack. Kenji pulled her unconscious body over his shoulder and got as far away from the Uchiha girl he left behind as possible.
Akua, on the other hand, limped the rest of the way through the Cloudburst island. She discovered the location of the Thunder Gate Tower due to the way the sky's lightning was drawn to it. She travelled non-stop for three straight hours, collecting only two other things along the way. Of course, the girl came across other genin on her way to the tower, but the aura she gave off made everyone, even the man-eating creatures avoid her. The rest of the road was travelled unscathed.
The entrance to the tower was a push away. Awaiting on the other side of the designated door for her team, was Sakura. She had an enthusiastic grin on her face when the door opened. But that smile flattened out when only Akua dragged her way into the room. Dirt trailed in behind her, and a muddy red dripped from the tip of her ninjato. "…Hey… where are the other two..?" Sakura was asking a pointless question she already knew the answer to the moment Akua stepped into the room alone. Her student approached her with groggy steps, stopping a two feet away. The ninjato was sheathed and she reached into her ninja pouch. Akua withdrew a pair of heaven and earth scrolls, placing them in Sakura's left hand. In her right hand, she placed were two other black scrolls. Akua limped around her sensei to head further into the tower. Sakura hung her head, pink bangs hiding the weakness in her eyes. A tear trickled down her cheek when she examined the two black scrolls. Her left arm hung to her side, letting the heaven and earth hit the floor and roll around. Written in blood on the first black scroll were the characters for Yashiro. On the other, Usagi.
A/N: And thus, the brutal, second exams have come to a close for Akua. For those of you that skipped the last half due to violence, the exams resulted in the deaths of both Usagi and Yoshimura (as well as Yashiro which you should have read).
Next chapter will mark the end of the Chunin Exams. After chapter 10 will be a mini-arc to lead into the next major portion of the story.
Despite how depressing this might have been, I hope I was able to tug a couple of your heart strings.
I always appreciate any sort of feedback, seeing your opinions really helps me to keep writing. Fav/Follow/Review, until next time.
